New Samsung Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 Update Hits U.S.

A new Samsung Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update has landed for select users in the United States just weeks ahead of the rumored Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop release and several months after Android 4.4.4 KitKat first started rolling out to Android users.

In January, Samsung started pushing out its Android 4.4.2 KitKat update. The first KitKat update landed for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which, at the time, was one of the company’s flagship smartphones. Samsung’s roll out took place a few months after Google pushed out Android 4.4 KitKat for its Nexus devices and right around the time that other Android manufacturers started making moves of their own.

In June, Google pushed out Android 4.4.4 KitKat, a massive bug fix update for the KitKat operating system. And while some companies have pushed ahead with Google’s new Android 5.0 Lollipop update, Samsung continues to release both Android 4.4.2 KitKat and Android 4.4.4 KitKat for select Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Today, Sprint’s announced a Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update, an update that’s been a long time coming. Sprint’s new Android 4.4.4 KitKat update has been in testing for weeks and it’s finally stable enough to release to the public. As expected, Sprint’s Galaxy S5 Android 4.4.4 KitKat update comes with a number of fixes and enhancements, including important security patches, that should help to shore up bugs and issues on board Sprint’s current Galaxy S flagship.

Android 4.4.4

HD Voice Icon

International Wi-Fi Calling Support

Google Security Patches

Sprint typically rolls Android updates out in stages though given that this is an incremental upgrade, we expect it to roll out a little bit faster than usual. Those touting a Sprint Galaxy S5 will want to dive into the device’s settings and manually check for the upgrade. If it’s available, and it might be, there will be a prompt to start the download and installation process. This process can take 15 minutes or more so Galaxy S5 users will want to set aside some time to get the upgrade up and running.

Samsung continues to push out Android 4.4 KitKat updates to its Galaxy devices but the focus of Galaxy users has shifted to Android 5.0 Lollipop, the new operating system that started rolling out to select device owners this month. Android 5.0 Lollipop is a massive change from Android 4.4 KitKat and it’s all but confirmed for several devices.

While the company itself remains silent about Android 5.0 Lollipop updates, we’ve seen a number of leaks hint at potential Samsung Galaxy Android 5.0 details. The Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note 3 Android 5.0 Lollipop updates are all but confirmed for arrival thanks to credible leaks that put early software builds on display. The Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update is rumored for December while the Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 update is expected to touch down in early 2015.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 is also expected to get the Android 5.0 Lollipop update and it’s update is also rumored to be coming sometime this year. Specific dates haven’t surfaced and Samsung itself still hasn’t confirmed any of the details. With Samsung’s competitors pushing out a number of Android 5.0 Lollipop updates, it’s only a matter of time before the world’s largest Android manufacturer reveals its own plans for its armada of smartphones and tablets. For now though, Galaxy users are struck with Android 4.4 KitKat.